false 29044 34 Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill. 221359 book 1992 The Secret History total:12593|5:4707|4:4557|3:2357|2:720|1:252| 12593 50526 16699 1663 5 33 false false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1993 Sun Feb 24 10:57:08 -0800 2008 Wed Sep 16 20:06:27 -0700 2009 The Secret History roughly sums up the mood of the book. In it, the narrator, Richard Papen, says that he thinks his fatal flaw is 'a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs'. If you can relate to these words, chances are you'll love The Secret History. If not, you'll ...more...]]> 4 20 true false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 04 13:13:47 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 18 10:39:11 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 19 false true Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sun Jul 08 11:55:35 -0700 2007 Wed Apr 01 05:31:22 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 16 true false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 10 07:19:15 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 17 12:09:56 -0700 2007 The Secret History by Donna Tartt is like drinking the scotch the characters drink in the book: smooth, sweet, smoky and scalding. You keep drinking, having no idea how drunk your getting. Then you try to stand up and the world falls out from under your feet.

The Secret History captur...more...]]> 4 12 true false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 25 08:43:19 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 23 11:48:13 -0700 2007 http://www.geocities.com/danielmacryan/n...

Apparently Donna Tartt was well-versed in this theme, as it is prevalent in The Secret History. The...more...]]> 2 16 false false Fri Sep 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 13 21:12:41 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 26 11:56:06 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 9 false false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1993 Sun Apr 19 15:53:43 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 14:05:19 -0700 2009
I do recall being just a little skeptical about how good the aut...more...]]> 5 9 false false Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Wed Aug 22 16:54:50 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 22 16:55:20 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 8 false false Wed Apr 02 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 13 07:10:57 -0700 2007 Wed Apr 02 09:01:32 -0700 2008
The characters all see the collision coming, as if in slow motion. The time and place are set; they could have turned away, but chose not to, and the story is the path to that explosive collision and the trajectory all the broken parts follow as they ...more...]]> 2 8 false false Wed Mar 05 03:21:04 -0800 2008 Mon May 26 04:30:23 -0700 2008
Yep, it was okay. This is my problem with hype. I read and I read and I keep thinking, it will wow me soon, it will, it has to. Then, it's done and here I am....more...]]> 5 9 false false Sun Jul 13 15:23:33 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 13 15:38:57 -0700 2008 mesmerizing. You know from the very first page that the narrator and his friends will kill someone during the course of the story - you even know who the victim is and how he dies. But that didn't stop me from reading this book as fast as I could...more...]]> 3 6 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 01 18:15:35 -0800 2007 Thu Feb 21 18:36:22 -0800 2008 At first I was drawn into it and I didn't know why. Since I pretty much don't really care for people who are "intellectuals" or jerks (especially ones who feel the need to do something or act a certain way to feel good about what they're doing in life)...more...]]> 0 5 false false Sun Jun 24 11:35:32 -0700 2007 Wed Dec 26 22:21:02 -0800 2007 Studying the Classics: The Potboiler

Okay, so if you like Bret Easton Ellis or Thomas Harris, you're going to love this 500+ page novel about a group of Greek studies students. Yep, they're studying Greek and the classics. Wait, where are you going, Gentle Reader? You don't find reading A...more...]]> 5 4 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Sun Jun 10 23:30:51 -0700 2007 Thu Jun 14 21:09:57 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 3 false false Wed Dec 10 05:34:14 -0800 2008 Thu May 21 06:31:54 -0700 2009
The book centers around a very small/elite group of students studying Greek at a rural New England college. From the very first page, we know that one of these students was killed, and by whom. What we don't know is why.

The secrets to this...more...]]> 2 4 false false Wed Jul 23 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 16 03:27:43 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 23 03:43:03 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Dec 19 08:00:19 -0800 2007 Wed Dec 19 08:00:39 -0800 2007 more...]]> 5 3 false false Mon Apr 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 13 15:48:51 -0700 2007 Mon Apr 28 22:22:16 -0700 2008
And in response to Lindsey's review of same, I'm neither a "punkass intellectual" nor someone "who feels obligated in live".

Update: I LOVED this book. Loved it.

There are enough ...more...]]> 4 2 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 02 12:45:53 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 23 11:13:28 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 2 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sun Oct 14 17:59:12 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 14 18:12:18 -0700 2007 more...]]>